This book will change your view of life!

I haven't finished this book yet, but I am so excited about what it says that I have to post it. It is called the Two Income Trap and it describes why more families are filing for bankruptcy and losing their homes to foreclosure than ever before. They aren't in this position because of irresponsible spending or by ignoring debt--as the credit card companies and mortgage lenders would have us believe. In fact, many of these families are hard-working families like yours or mine who just had the misfortune of having one member of the family get laid off, had a medical emergency or even got a divorce. These events send families into a financial tailspin from which it is hard or impossible to recover.

One of the reasons why it is hard to recover is because credit cards have such high rates of interests and area allowed to compound fees and even solicit families in trouble to apply for MORE credit with even higher rates of interest.

Another problem is sub-prime mortgages, which we have also heard a lot about in the news. These mortgages are offered to lower income people, but also to minorities, or those who aren't as aware of what they are signing. These loans have hidden fees and high rates of interest.

Why are lower and middle income families getting stuck with these high payments and high interest rates??? Usury and Deregulation of the credit/ mortgage industry.

Read this book and you will be as angry as I am about it. I want to join a group to protest these practices and fight for the rights of the middle class. I'm tired of hearing about how the economy is doing so well, and that the welfare of big business is good for the economy. It's time for a change, and a change of attitude and opinion towards the hard-working middle and lower class who are still just as hard-working and as 50 years ago. The only difference is that after they have tried all methods of paying back bills and trying to stay ahead, credit card companies swoop down on them and offer credit limits to "tide them over" and take advantage of their weakened state until they are buried under a mound of debt, late payment fees, interest on debt and fees etc. etc.

I'll get off my soapbox now, but you have to read this book!

Refuge House Quilt 2

13 completed blocks! Is that unlucky? Most are from my stash, but Miha has also contributed fabric from hers, and she sewed most of the dark blue and brown block by herself.

Basil extravaganza

Here are updated pics of the garden. The tomatoes are coming along nicely, and our basil plants are exploding. I just made an amazing Genoese pesto from these plants tonight. I wanted to take a picture of it before we ate it, but we were in too much of a hurry, maybe next time.

Jacob and his grandparents

My parents had a great time with Jacob. He continues to surprise us with his new expressions and little words. He got to try out a walker for the first time, and loved it so much that we got him one to use at home. It has given us some much needed hands free time, especially at the tricky late afternoon part of the day when I have to make dinner, but he needs a lot of attention.
We went up to visit my parents last week, and they had a walker for him to use. At first he didn't know what to do in it, but he soon learned to move around pretty fast in that thing. He was scooting all over the house touching all of the new surfaces, and trying to grab anything within his reach. They had a great time playing with him and reading to him.

The Men in my life

Jacob is the bridge between the two other men in my life that I love the most. There is a little of my dad and Nate in his expression.

Fun with the Reeds

We took a vacation to Northern California last week. It was great to get away, and it was fun to catch up with old friends. Here we are with the Reeds. Jacob met them for the first time. Their 3rd child--Quincey is 4 mos. He is just about Jacob's size, and they got along great.

Godparents

This is Jacob with his godparents, Josh and Miha. He's obviously VERY excited to be with them.

The difference between 1 and 2

This is Jacob's friend Maddy. She just turned 2 and is the recipient of the little tote bag I made in a previous post. It's amazing to me how much children develop between 1 and 2. Maddy walks, talks, screams and can feed herself a cupcake. Jacob can sit up, babble and smile at people he loves. She even looks about twice his size.

6 quirks

The Rules:
You must post the rules, list 6 random quirks about yourself, then "tag" 6 bloggers who will then list their quirks. (I've never done one of these, but it sounds fun)

1. I was a recycler before it was hip to do it. I used to be embarrassed of my can collecting dad, but I've sort of become him. I have relaxed a bit since Jacob was born, but I'll still pick up a water bottle if I see it.

2. I like to drive older Toyota Corollas. My very first car was an '83 Corolla, and now I have a '91 Corolla wagon. They also both had to be stick shift.

3. I've never dyed or permed my hair, and don't wear deodorant.

4. I'm pretty crazy about going to estate sales. I love seeing other people's junk and trying to think of a new use for it.

5. I love to read, but I find that if I am not reading a book from the library I have a hard time finishing it. If I get a book from the library, I'll finish it by the due date and get it back.

6. I'm thrifty to a fault. I have to clip coupons, I actually use gift cards, I look for deals online and on craigslist all the time. It's almost a game to see what kind of deals I can get.

Blogs I am tagging...I don't think I even know 6 people to tag, but I'll try to find a few.
Sarah, Flo, Carolyn, Tami, Becky, Jen,

Refuge House quilt 1

We have a quilter in our midst, and she has inspired a group of girls from church to dust off our sewing machines, or get them out for the first time in order to produce some quilts to cover the beds of the girls at Refuge House. The picture on the far right is what the finished quilt could look like. Our church has recently decided to start and maintain a home for girls who have been rescued from the sex trafficking industry in the the Philippines. If you want to know more about this particular ministry, you can find out more here.

The goal for our quilt project is to produce enough quilts to cover each bed in the house. Here is the first square of our first quilt. Even after our first night of quilting together, we were amazed by how well women can work together and how it is possible for people of all levels of sewing ability to find a way to contribute in the quilting process. Here's to bringing back quilting bees!

Jacob and Mugsy

We get a lot of comments about how big Mugsy is. He does look pretty big when he and Jacob are together. Jacob's last measurement was 29". He's a growing boy. He and Mugsy get along well. At first, Mugsy was kind of jealous of the new baby, and he even tried to climb into my lap while I was nursing Jacob. Sometimes he still tries, but they are getting to be pretty good friends. Mugsy doesn't scratch or bite Jacob, and he even permits Jacob to pull his tail or ears for a while before moving to another location.

On another more frustrating note. I have been trying to get the cloth diaper thing going for a while. I finally got my Charlie's laundry soap, and prewashed all of his diapers. I also did a few loads of our own clothes in the process. Recently I have noticed that Jacob has been breaking out into a rash, and it has only been when he's wearing newly washed clothes. I think that he is having a reaction to the new laundry soap. After talking to a few people, I have found out that some babies who have really sensitive skin will break out into a rash when they change laundry detergents, even when both are hypo-allergenic. I had never heard of this happening before, but I'm wondering if anyone has advice about what I can do. I can try washing his diapers in his 7th Generation that we were using before, but I'm afraid that they won't get as clean when I have to wash dirty diapers using that detergent. Ahhhh!!!!! I was almost ready to go.

Happy un-Birthday

I'm so sad that these shoes don't fit. They were my birthday present, but I got them on eBay, and wasn't sure if I should get this size or the larger size. Well, I picked the wrong size and these beauties are not worth the pain they inflict on my toes. So, back up for auction they go. At least I can remember them on my blog, and look back and see the cute shoes that I almost had.

Small tote

This is a reversable tote that I made for a little girl we know. It's loosely based on the BTRS tote bag. All of the material is from estate sales, or second hand, and the handles were tied around a pottery barn bedspread that we got a few years ago.